Chaos Wars

“BURN THEM ALL!” Thanos roared and all the heroes turned, staring in horror at the sky as the Chitauri ships, along with those of the Black Order, turned their guns towards New York. Even with all Edwin had done to keep the Armada from reaching Earth there were still enough ships there to reduce the city to ashes. And should Thanos survive the blasts, which all those brought to the universe by Entropy suspected her could, he would be able to continue on with his mad scheme. He would rain fire on the planet… perhaps the ENTIRE planet… as punishment for them daring to stand in his way.

Dread it.

Run from it.

Destiny arrives all the same.

“No.”

NONE… met Destiny head on.

At one time he could have turned the cannons into Butterfrees. Or made the lasers rain chocolate ice cream down upon them. But he could tell that whatever Entropy had done to him to limit his magic… such power was gone from him. He was a master artist who had gone blind. The greatest musician gone deaf. He could remember what the power was like, feel it on the very tips of his fingertips… and still have it elude him. It taunted him, telling him just to reach out and claim it. But even attempting it would kill him. All he could do was force his will into each laser and demand they dissipate. And even that was proving too much for him. He didn’t need the Gauge to know that he was draining away the last of his power.

“NONE!” Slash screamed. “Stop!”

“No.”

“Please-!“

“I saw one world burn!” he roared, his bones cracking as he began to draw upon his own lifeforce. “I won’t watch another!”

The warships let loose death upon New York.

And NONE stood against them.

Avo and Edwin let out fury screams and leapt at Thanos, trying to take him out in hopes that might stop the bombardment. It would not. The sorcerers that had come with the Ancient One began to throw up barriers in hopes of protecting some. They would not. Tony Stark’s mind whirled, believe that if he just focused he might come up with some witty plan that would stop what was about to happen. He would not.  But NONE remained focused on the lasers. He refused to let a single one touch the city and that meant stretch himself thin, forcing his very essence to spread out wide to see each one and halt it. And as he did so his body began to crumble. He sank to his knees and his arms slowly lowered towards his head… but he would not yield. Even as bones began to fracture and he felt the cold spot in his chest where his heart had once beat solidify completely… he did not yield.

Once, a VERY long time ago, he had written of a great hero. Old and tired yes, but not powerless. And against a great threat he had written that the hero had made a choice. The choice that NONE made now.

Hold. The. Line.

No matter the cost.

‘It won’t ever make up for it,’ a dark part of his mind, one that had been with him since he had awoken in his second life and crafted his throne of bones amongst a sea of ashes, whispered. ‘Save this city… it is but a drop of blood removed from the OCEAN you have bled.’

“I know,” he whispered back. “There is… no redemption for me. Not even in death.”

‘Then why are you doing this?’

“I…”

NONE paused.

“Why… why am I doing this?”

He didn’t let his focus slip. He remained determined to stop every laser. Yet the question still lingered.

“Why … am I doing this?” he whispered. “There is no… redemption for me. If these people knew what I had done… they would run in terror. I am monster. So why am I doing this?”

Slash was screaming something but he couldn’t hear her over the blood roaring in his ears.

“I am vile, disgusting, hideous monster. I will never be forgiven for what I did… I don’t deserve it. I know that. But I’m still saving them. Even if it means I die. I’m not doing this for myself. I’m not… doing this for Slash. She… she wants me to stop. And... I don’t want to die. So why am I doing this?”

‘Because its right,’ the voice whispered and he suddenly found what he had thought was harsh and judging was instead just kind and stern, like a parent teaching their stubborn child a difficult but needed lesson.

Everything began to slow down for him.

“Yes. It is. Its right. It doesn’t matter that it… doesn’t benefit me. I’d still do this. Because its right. I’ve never met any of these people… I will never talk to them or listen them or have any connection to them. And they will never know it was me. There will be no songs or tales of my last stand. But I still want to save them. Not to redeem myself or to make up for what I did but… because its right. A monster… a monster doesn’t do that. A monster doesn’t care about others… before themselves.”

‘Because you were never a monster,’ the voice whispered gently. ‘You were a man… put in an impossible situation… and you’ve been punishing yourself ever since.’

“I’m… I’m not a monster.”

NONE gasped as he felt something pound in his chest.

A sensation he hadn’t felt in millions of years.

“Cassie,” he said, slowly turning to her, hating the tears in her eyes yet unable to stop himself from smiling all the same, “I… I think my heart’s beating.”

There was a crack of thunder and NONE blinked as he turned his head away from his friend, feeling his skin tear as he did so (and when had he regained his skin? He hadn’t noticed that), as he stared at what was floating before him.

‘If he be worthy…’

Thor’s hammer.

It was hovering before him.

Not Edwin.

Not Avo.

Not Chris.

Him.

NONE.

He… was worthy.

“I… am not a monster.”

The Gauge began to scream as NONE reached out and grasped the handle of the hammer.

At once he felt everything change. It was as if he had been living with pain in each one of his limbs only to do a full body stretch and finally pop everything back into position. Something that had been twisted inside of him uncurled and became untangled. He had thought himself blind only remove his glasses and find that it had only been film that had kept him from seeing and now the world lay before him green and beautiful.

NONE slowly rose… and the guns went quiet.

~MC~MC~MC~

Slash watched as NONE rose in the air. During the assault he had reverted back to looking like a human but now he was once more changing. But it wasn’t him becoming his monstrous skeletal form. No… it was something else entirely.

Black flames flecked with lightning exploded from his body and even though she couldn’t see him anymore she knew that he wasn’t burning. No… this was something else.

‘The bird of Hermes is my name,’ she heard within her mind, ‘eating my own wings to keep me tame.’

The flames grew… and from them he emerged.

Slash stared, a tear falling from her eye.

He was beautiful.

A great bird, eagle-like in form, body bone-white and muscularly built. Adorning his body was armor of gold: a breastplate with an orange jewel embedding in the center, bracers upon his ankles, and hip guards. Across the top of his head a plume of golden feathers ran along from the top of his forehead to just past the center of his head. His wings, four in total, with two raised while the other two hung down like a cloak, were golden as well but the ends were pure white as snow. From his body came the black flames that trailed after him as he rose higher and higher into the air.

The Gauge let out a shrill shriek before, to Slash’s shock, it exploded.

She looked down at her bare wrist, staring at it for the first time in ages, then at the ruined bits upon the ground, charred and smoldering, before finally ripping her eyes back to NONE.

“And what are you, exactly?” Thanos said as he grabbed Edwin by the throat and hurled him away from him, Goku just managing to catch him. He pointed his sword at NONE, letting out an annoyed huff. “Another illusion?”

“Yes,” NONE stated and Slash trembled at how HEALTHY he friend sounded. She hadn’t realized how broken NONE had sounded until she heard his voice now, restored and pure. None of the hidden bitterness or self hatred or loathing. He wasn’t attempting to hide from them how hurt and damaged he was with a cocky smirk and a devil-may-care attitude. No… his voice was light.  “And no. Many would call me an illusion, I suppose. The impossible thing. I thought that about myself, before I realized what I was of course, for millions of years. But… I am very real.”

“Then what are you?”

“I… am the Pokemon of Hope.”  And with that NONE flared out his wings and an aura of black fire burst from his body, washing over everyone. “Judgment Wave.”

Slash gasped as all the injuries she’d gained in the battle at once disappeared. The cuts, the scraps… they were gone. But more than that she realized that something felt different within her… it only took moments for her to realize that whatever NONE’s attack had done it had altered her completely, so that she sensed that when she returned to her world… it would be her choice if she became Ash again. And for how long.

Edwin was on his knees, tears in his eyes; Goku placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, a massive smile on his face. Avo was staring at his hands with shock, his wild magics calmed before he rolled back his head and stared at the sky. Corrosion’s symbiote had pulled away from her, still attached but taking the form of a gooey figure who held the young woman’s hand as she stood straight, allowing all to see her face uncovered without fear. Chris looked at her in shock before he suddenly laughed and leapt at her, hugging her. The Pharaoh looked down at the puzzle, seeing it tremble and shake violently for just a moment and Slash would forever swear that in that moment she hear the Spirit of the Millennium ring SCREAM… and the sighs of relief from chorus of weary voices, wispy white forms rising from the cracks and crevices of the puzzle.

“Yeah Jarvis…” Tony said and Slash turned to see that not only were his injuries healed but that his armor had been repaired, “I… I have no idea what happened.” He paused, Slash unable to hear what he was saying. “I… what?”

“Tony?” Pepper asked as she moved to land next to him, Rhodey slowly lowering his weapons that had been trained on the Armada.

Tony slowly reached up and lifted up the faceplate of his helm and stared at her, eyes wide. “Jarvis… he ran a scan. The shrapnel is gone.”

Pepper lifted up her faceplate, gaping at him in shock.

“Its… its gone.”

At once Pepper struck him, hugging him tight.

“Marry me,” she whispered.

“…okay.”

“The blood…” Natasha whispered as she walked by in a daze, staring at her hands. “There’s… there’s no blood.” She looked up at Clint, a tear rolling down her cheek even as she beamed brightly. “There’s no blood.”

A wail pierced the air and Slash turned to find Thor hugging Loki, who clung to his brother like he was a child once more suffering from a nightmare. Bucky was little better, Steve having sat down to comfort him as he sobbed… but Slash sensed that it wasn’t as much grief that brought either of their tears but relief.

“Guys?” Betty Ross said in Slash’s communicator. “What just happened? Some weird black flames appeared… Bruce just transformed. But its different. He has… he has full control… WHOA!”

“What was that?” Bruce asked, his voice slightly deeper. “Those… flames? Because whatever they were…”

“Yeah,” Edwin got out. “That was… wow.” He slowly got up. “I haven’t felt like that since I died.” Avo shot him a shocked look. “Wait, I died before you did? That’s bullshit!”

“I have found death to be overrated,” the Black Panther stated as he walked over, patting Edwin on the shoulder while Avo glanced at the Ancient One and her students, who made their presence known by going to those that were still in shock and offering kind words.

Slash laughed but forced herself to stop when she looked upon Thanos and his army… and saw that they hadn’t been unaffected by the Judgment Wave.

Their reactions though…

The Chitauri were utterly silent. They didn’t say a word, nor cry out, nor scream. They just stood there… before they turned their weapons on themselves. Slash didn’t even have time to gasp as they, within the span of seconds, fell to the ground dead. Their great space whale transports let out mournful bellows before they slammed down into the ground, though Slash did notice they chose empty places, almost as if to ensure no one got hurt.

‘No… not almost,’ she realize as she watched members of the Black Order grip their heads in their hands and wail in grief.

“What… what did you do?” Thanos whispered, dropping his sword. He looked up at NONE but Slash could see the fight had utterly left him.

“Allowed you to see the truth,” NONE declared. “Judgment Wave lets you see your sins. What you have done. And why. And it forgives you for them.”

“Then… then why do i-?” He snapped his head up, glaring at NONE. Yet at the same time Slash could see that he looked scared, wounded, frightened, mournful… and so many other emotions all at once.

“Forgiveness… must in the end come from within,” NONE intoned, looking down upon Thanos. And in his true form he looked so much like an ancient god. Not passing judgment though… but giving unto a mortal wisdom long sought. “All can be forgiven… even you, Thanos. But until you forgive yourself… until you realize that you are worthy of forgiveness, you will also hurt.”

“Hurt?” Thanos got out. “This… this isn’t hurt. It burns! It-“

“You see and feel the full weight of all you have done,” NONE told him with utter patience. The millions of years he had lived suddenly condensed within him, granting him wisdom well earned. “Every action… you understand fully WHY you did them. Not the lies you told yourself. The comforts or the harshness.” He glanced at Natasha. “The blame that you never deserved…” He looked to a member of the Black Order who was curled up on himself, trembling, “…the delusions that weren’t true. I tore away the veil. Shattered them all. No more hiding from the truth. You understand why you did all you did… and you can’t hide from it a second more. Good and bad.”

And suddenly Slash understood why the Chitauri had killed themselves. Sometimes understanding that all your justifications were lies and that you had done evil because you wanted to… and understood just how much pain you had caused? Well… sometimes the only way out was the quick way.

“Make… make it stop,” Thanos pleaded.

“I can’t,” NONE told him. “Only you can do that, Thanos of Titan. Forgiveness comes from within.” He paused. “But… I can give you something.”

And with that his body glowed and Slash looked about wildly, finding herself no longer on Earth but some strange alien world. The soil was a dark green and looked rather dry… but then she heard the boom and looked up to see Thanos’ ships. But rather than fire down death… they began to let water pour down. Controlled, so not to cause a flood. A man-made rainstorm. And as the strange aliens cheered the rains she saw Thanos hitch himself up to a plow, smiling as he began to till the field, other members of his Black Order assisting him.

“I give you hope,” NONE said as the vision disappeared.

“Why?”

NONE smiled, glancing at Edwin, Avo, Chris, and finally Slash herself.

“I… am a Chaos. And I save people. And if there is anyone out there… anyone that has a problem with that?” He threw back his head and roared out to the Heavens. “TO HELL WITH THEM!”

In response Edwin tensed, glowing wings appearing on his back as he lifted up Gleipnir, the Millennium Key gleaming around his neck. “To hell with them!”

“To Hell with them!” Avo said, magics bursting around him.

“To hell with them!” Chris echoed, the Time Stone glowing brightly.

After a moment Slash hefted her saber into the air. “TO HELL WITH THEM!”

~MC~MC~MC~

“I think that you should keep it, Noble NONE,” Thor said, looking fondly but also sadly at his hammer that was firmly grasped in NONE’s hand. “I can not lift it… not anymore.”

“You can’t lift it now,” NONE replied, setting the hammer down on the floor of Madison Square Garden, right near the visitor’s bench.

After the battle it had been decided that everyone who had fought to repel Thanos’ forces should retreat to someplace where they could deal with all that had happened. Even though all of them had seen their wounds healed from NONE’s Judgment Wave the fact remained that they still had been in a battle and needed time to decompress. The Garden was the largest place around for all of them and at that moment everyone from Black Panther’s forces to the students of the Ancient One to the SHIELD agents were spread around. Steve was shooting Horse with Coulson, commenting about how while the game hadn’t been as popular as baseball in the Bronx it was still something he and the Howling Commandos had engaged in when they had some free time during the War. Tony had paid for as much food as he could get and had it set up throughout the arena, people drifting about to grab burgers, tacos, buckets of chicken, and pretty much anything else they could grab. Hawkeye and his wife were discussing with Edwin Downton Abbey, which had JUST premiered and the couple had fallen in love with; Happy was joining in as well and Tony knew his friend was hooked. The Ancient One was chuckling as she watched her students stare at her in shock as she savored her first Hot Dog in decades; it could be a cheat day.

Thor shifted uneasily but NONE shook his head. “You will be worthy again. And far sooner than you think now that you have good friends with you to make you see that you are.”

“I suppose you would know,” Thor commented.

“I don’t know… I hope.” NONE shrugged. “Which is odd because I’m naturally a pessimist.”

“Speaking of,” Lady Sif said, “will you keep your name. NONE?”

“I thought about that,” the Pokemon of Hope said. “Really can’t think of a good name to give myself. I’ve been NONE for millions of years… even with my change-“ he gestured at his human self, having reverted back after Thanos had been dealt with, “-I still see myself as NONE.”

“Though you are going to shock the hell out of everyone,” Slash said, looking over at him as she drank a glass of fine Scotch; being an adult SO had some perks! “Especially when they see the new suit.”

NONE frowned as he looked over his outfit. Rather than the reds and blacks he’d worn ever since his first big song and dance number, back when Slash had called for his help to deal with a ‘movie villain’ and he’d performed My Way to prove how screwed they were, he was wearing a gold and white suit. Still tailored like Alastor’s but much more… holy.

“You know, considering I made this with my magic technically I’m actually naked right now.”

“Geez, NONE!” Slash complained.

“I made that suit for you too so you’re also strutting around in the buff!” NONE teased, Slash smacking his arm.

Slash turned to Thor. “What will happen with Loki?”

“We will return him to Asgard. As I told him he will need to answer for what he did but… I see now that we did him wrong. I will make sure that this is something that is… corrected. I have many words to share with my father, concerning his actions.” He paused. “I believe my mother will be my greatest ally in this endeavor.”

“You know I almost wrote a fanfic where you were married to Loki, Sif,” NONE said bluntly. “I think the premise was you were Lily and James Potter who had your memories erased when you ‘died’. Thor brought them back.”

Sif stared at him, startled by the sudden comment. “And… why are you bringing that up?”

“No reason,” NONE said with a smirk. “He does have a fine ass though.”

“Oh yeah,” Slash said.

“Verily,” Thor stated. That caused Slash to glance at him and Thor smirked. “My brother he may be… but I can admit where he bests me.”

That caused NONE to double over laughing.

~MC~MC~MC~

“It never gets easier, does it?” Steven said as he looked over at Chris.

“Hmmm?”

The two of them were seated in some of the courtside seats, Steve polishing off a large sub sandwich while Chris munched on some fries. Perhaps not the healthiest things to put in their bodies but after all they had gone through sometimes it was nice just to have comfort food. The next day they could worry about eating right… or at least Chris hoped it would be the next day as he still had to deal with The Spot.

There was no doubt in his mind that the Spot would still be around when they returned to Miles’ world… he knew better than almost anyone that time worked differently in dimensions. His own powers allowed him to sense the shifting of the timeline and how it would increase or decrease, seemingly on a whim. The world of the Avengers that he currently found himself on seemed to be currently going faster than his world but that didn’t mean it would remain that way… time loved to suddenly speed up or slow down. It was entirely possible that once they left time would suddenly slow to a crawl and, should they return, it would be like they had never left.

“Being the leader,” Steve said. “The one everyone looks to us.”

“Well… we’re used to it,” Chris said, a bit startled by Steve’s comment.

“I’m not.” He shook his head, dabbing his sandwich in some sauce. “I mean… sure, I led the Commandos in battle but we all had our expertise that each would fall back on. I had a lot to learn and I was willing to look to them. And now the Avengers are looking to me…”

“…damn it, I keep forgetting what point I’m in, timeline wise.” Chris shook his head. “I should be better than that. I deal with timeline shit all the time. You know how many times I’ve had to avoid telling Logan about his past? Because it’s a lot.”

“Logan?” Steve said, interesting piqued.

“…okay, we’ll unpack that in a minute but for now… yeah, it never gets easier, having to be the leader. Having everyone rely upon you… and then getting angry at you when you try and help them out because they suddenly want to do it all on their own.”

“Yeah, can already sense a lot of problems between me and… half the team, honestly.”

“You’ll be fine,” Chris said. “Trying not to freak you out but you are built for this and I don’t mean because of the Super Soldier Formula.”

He paused.

“Just… don’t let it consume you, Steve. The Avengers… it can be like a beast, trying to swallow you whole. Never let it. Always fight to remain yourself.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“…yeah,” Chris admitted.

~MC~MC~MC~

“Huh, so if you lose one battle your monster is destroyed?” Goku said as he removed his Buster Whelp from the field and placed it in the graveyard. “That doesn’t seem very realistic. In a real fight you have plenty of chances to try new things. Just because one hit gets in against you doesn’t mean you are out of the fight. Not if you are strong enough. And why couldn’t my Buster Blader move to intercept?”

Yugi chuckled; the Pharaoh had allowed him to take back control of their body when it had become clear that there was no more danger to them. Goku had asked if he could learn duel monsters and thus Yugi had passed over his Buster Blader deck, using his own Dark Magician deck in a nice casual duel to show Goku the ropes. He didn’t think anyone was ready for the Duel Discs; not after the fight they’d just had against Thanos’ forces. “There are some cards that do let you do that but I think a lot of it is honorable battle. If a monster declares it wants to battle another monster all the others respect that choice.”

But that only made Goku frown all the harder. “But its honorable to attack a weaker monster you know has no chance of defeating you? That seems mean… and a bit lazy. You should be attacking monsters that are REALLY strong… that’s the only way your monsters can become stronger too! And even if you don’t you continue on, taking what you started and continuing it. Your Dark Magician Girl should have gotten some injury from fighting my Buster Welp and then when I summon a new monster to fight her she should have some damage. Or at least be tired down. Right now she can just… fight forever!” Goku laughed at that. “That isn’t how battles are!”

“Did… did Goku just invent the Pokemon TCG?” Edwin asked Avo.

“Considering we have actual Pokemon running around?” the mage said, gesturing to where Slash was showing Corrosion some of her Pokemon, the samurai-themed hero cooing as she petted them all.

Edwin was silent for a long moment. “So… what NONE did… you okay?”

“Yeah… yeah, I am. I would have thought that his Judgment Wave would have affected me more, what with all the evil magic I have flowing through my veins but it really didn’t do that much. You?”

“It helped,” Edwin said. “Eased some… worries, more than anything.” He sighed. “Right now we are in the Virtual World arc.” Avo nodded at that. “I’ve fucked up the canon real good… the first time, during Virtual Heroes, I got trapped in the Virtual World for 8 months. Or it felt like 8 months for me.”

“Crap,” Avo muttered, glancing at his doppelganger. “So now…”

“Noah is a vicious little kid,” Edwin muttered. “He trapped me in a giant sphere with nothing. Nothing at all. And I have a feeling when we get sent back to our realities I’m gonna have to go back into that sphere. Because if I don’t something very bad is going to happen.”

Avo considered that for a long moment.

“I let a world suffer,” he finally said. “We’re on our way to Namek, to bring Master Roshi back to life. Yeah, I know, that is a wild change. Goku tell you Chichi is half Saiyan?”

“He did and I can honestly see it,” Edwin admitted.

“Well, we got to this planet and Tree of Might happened. I… stole the fruit from it and ate it myself. Did nothing afterwards to help the people of that planet because every time I help I get a boost of good magic. And there is this prophecy-“

“Oh, that bullshit,” Edwin commented.

Avo shot him a look. “Remember, this is Dragon Ball, not A Game of Thrones.”

“Met a version of us in a fusion world of that… Seto was basically Ned Stark.”

That derailed Avo’s thoughts for several moments as he tried to get the image of Seto declaring “Dragon Is Coming” out of his head. Mostly because that led to Master Roshi laughing at the naughtier meaning. “I just… left them. Even though I know everything will be fine, thanks to the movie… hell, they are probably all better already… I could have done more to help them against Turles. But I didn’t.” He shook his head. “I think of Thanos. Perfectly balanced. That’s what he wanted. Is that what I’m going to become?”

“Not in the slightest,” Edwin stated.

“You’re that sure?” Avo stated. “You know how we are. Addiction is in our blood. And power is the greatest drug.”

“And we know that which is why we are able to fight the urge,” Edwin countered.

“Except we’ve already given in, both of us. Gathering power.”

“Right,” Edwin admitted before nodding to Goku and Yugi. Yugi had managed to win the duel and Goku was excitedly asking to try again; Yugi laughed and agreed to it and some of the Ancient One’s students, as well as Pepper Potts, had come over to watch as Yugi and, surprisingly, Goku began to explain the rules. “But we have them to keep us honest. To hold us to the mark.”

Avo slowly nodded at that. “Yeah… yeah we do.” He glanced at Edwin. “Alright, Virtual Word. Why not use your Key?”

“I couldn’t the time before,” Edwin said only to blink and groan. “Fucking hell, I didn’t try because I’d been stabbed.” Avo stared at him and Edwin scoffed. “Yeah yeah, I’ve nearly died and actually died more than you, fuck off. But I forgot… I didn’t use the Key because I was at risk of waking up and bleeding out.” He reached down and touched the artifact. “Not this time.” He glanced over at Avo. “Mom purified it.”

“You… mentioned that,” Avo said softly. “Mom. Not… the purified thing.”

“Yeah. But she did. And I think… can you look at it and me?”

Avo nodded, understanding what Edwin was trying to asks for. His eyes flashed with white and black light… and he started. “Oh… okay.”

“We’re connected, aren’t we?”

“Oh yeah,” Avo said. “You and the Key… you’re basically one and the same. I can’t tell where you end and it begins. I think… I think when the Memory Duel happens… it will still come back to you.”

“I thought so,” Edwin said. “When the souls of the thieves of Kul Elna were released my soul took their place. The Key is mine… and only mine.” His eyes glowed white and gold. “And even in the Virtual World I should be able to call upon that power.”

“And even if you can’t you need to remember… the mind is the only limit.”

Edwin smiled at that before turning back to the duel… only to begin laughing. Avo frowned, confused, only for Edwin to point beyond the duelists to a doorway… where Chris Chase was emerging, Proxima following right behind him. She had been the only one of Thanos’ Black Order to ask to join their little party; the only one that, while affected by Judgment Wave, was willing to face the sneers and scorn of the Avengers. Not that anyone had actually sneered at her. She hadn’t done much in the battle, honestly, and thus was just seen as another person there that looked different.

Now she looked ruffled, had her black lipstick smeared, and was staring at Chris with a hunger. And Chris had some dark marks along his neck…

“Well,” Avo said, “we do have a type.”

“You dating anyone?”

“No,” Avo responded, shaking his head. “Bulma will always be Vegeta’s girl, even if they haven’t met yet. Chichi and Goku are stronger than ever and I didn’t get to spend much time with Launch. So… yeah, no one.”

“Meh, give it time. There is that Egyptian Themed Destroyer Goddess, right? Maybe her name is Mai.”

“Don’t even joke about-“

The world around them suddenly exploded with light, the ceiling of the Garden seeming to disappear as the glow of a newly born sun bathed them all in light. Avo shielded his eyes before performing a quick Black Silk spell, creating sunglasses for as many people as he could but even that didn’t seem to stop against the glare.

“Our host is here!” Slash shouted though there was no real reason to as it was only a light and not sound that was scrambling their senses.

“Our who?” Avo shouted.

“The one that brought us here!” Edwin shouted.

“For me that’s you 6 mother fuckers!” Chris called out.

“Language!” Captain America scolded even as he held his shield up to his face.

“This is that Entropy guy?” Tony called out. “He sure knows how to make a flashy entrance!”

“Maybe he’s compensating for something!” Rhodey called out.

“THE FIRST TASK HAS BEEN COMPLETED! YOU HAVE PROVEN YOURSELVES WORTHY AND A PRIZE IS YOURS!”

“I know we should think that’s a good thing…” Edwin said.

“Yeah,” Yugi said, “I’m not sure how much we should trust this Entropy person. They haven’t directly harmed us but stealing us from our own worlds?”

Enthropy continued on, not fazed at all by their comments, assuming he even heard them. “ONLY ONE MAY RECEIVE THIS PRIZE. CHOOSE WISELY, FOR ONCE GIVEN YOU WILL BE RETURNED TO YOUR WORLDS, TO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT CONTEST!”

The light diminished a bit, allowing everyone to function, and quickly the Avengers and the Chaoses gathered together.

“So… that’s it then,” Bruce, still in his Hulk form, said as he scratched his chin. “Just sent back to where you came from and we never see you again.”

“Well, not entirely,” Edwin said. “I have a way to leap to other dimensions and once I’ve been to one I can return to it easily enough. At least according to Edna.”

“And NONE should be able to do it at this point,” Slash commented. “So if you need us again we can help.”

Goku frowned. “But what do we wish for? I guess we could wish for Master Roshi to come back but I already have that handled with the Dragon Balls so that feels like a waste of a wish.”

“Fix New York?” Edwin suggested.

But Steve shook his head. “No… you’ve all done enough for us. We can handle getting New York back in order.”

Avo frowned. “And since only one of us can receive this gift we can’t wish to go home… assuming this isn’t a monkey’s paw thing.”

“Out of the question for me even then,” Edwin said. “My dad and brother are out there… I’m not returning to my world without them. Mai either. I promised her that I’m taking her with me, if I return. And considering Tea and I are sister and brother now…”

Chris looked absolutely thunderous. “Never. I got kids now and I will NOT abandon them.” He wrapped an arm around Corrosion who smiled… only to blink when Proxima also came to stand next to them.

“I would say deal with the Gauge but NONE wiped that out…” Slash slowly trailed off, eyes going wide. “I know the Gift.”

“You do?” NONE asked.

“Yes… yes I do.” Before anyone could stop her she stepped away from them and threw back her head. “Entropy, I ask for this gift: you will go back to the moment before NONE’s first loop ended and bring all his Pokémon forward in time to us right here!”

NONE’s knees gave out and Avo and Goku quickly caught him.

There was a flash of light and a bag choking full of Pokeballs appeared, the ancient Chaos beginning to keen as he hugged them close, sobbing even as Slash returned and hugged him tight, a Pikachu popping up on NONE’s shoulder, confused but knowing he’d found his Ash.

“THE GIFT HAS BEEN GIVEN! THIS TEST IS ENDED! PREPARE FOR WHEN YOU WILL BE CALLED NEXT!”

Doorways suddenly appeared before them and the light faded.

“Well… I guess this is it,” Chris said.

“For now,” Edwin stated as Tony walked up and passed them each a smart phone. “Jarvis?”

“Well, a connection to him. The others have the beginnings of new AI that will grow with them. You said you have your own AI… and with your powers you should be able to make the link even through the multiverse. I’ll tinker with it on my end.” Edwin nodded and slipped the phone into his pocket; would be handy to have and hopefully Troy could easily merge it with his own phone-

“-God damn it Troy, have you been sitting this whole thing out!?!” Edwin roared, the AI popping up and laughing. “You motherfucker-!”

“I never tried that but hey, new living space! Oh we’re movin’ on up! Movin’ on up! To the east side! To a de’luxe apartment in the sky!” Troy disappeared in an instant and Edwin watched as the Starkphone shuddered a moment before he heard Troy call out, “Oh yeah, this is nice… hey, a hot tub!”

Tony walked over to talk to Chris even as Thor walked up and clasped his hand. “Should you need us, friend Edwin, call for us. We will come to you.”

“We can’t ever repay you for all you did,” Steve commented.

“I mean, I could try but I do need to keep Pepper in shoes and handbags-OW!” Tony cried out as Pepper began to smack him.

Edwin looked to the others. “Not goodbye… just farewell for now. This isn’t over by a long shot.”

“No… it isn’t,” Avo said before shaking Edwin’s hand. “Next time.”

“Next time.”

Yugi moved to follow Edwin in making his goodbyes only for Thor to stop him. “What is it?” the teen asked.

“Your friend… he said a goddess seeks to make him a god?”

“Yeah… Selene.”

“Are… are you sure that he means that?”

“What do you mean?”

Thor frowned. “He… he reminds me so very much of my brother… and I don’t mean in attitude.” He leaned in close. “Look into his past, Yugi Muto… I believe our worlds may be more similar than you realize.”

“He… he is supposed to be the reincarnation of a Greek Mage…”

But Thor shook his head. “Look deeper.”

~MC~MC~MC~

"So," Pepper said, smiling at Edwin as she walked over, "I've been told you tend to collect souvenirs when you deal with this multiverse stuff?"

"Yeah," Edwin admitted with a soft chuckle. He began to tick off the points. "Outfit I am wearing is from Earth-2. Another one of these too." He made the Key appear from his chest. "Millennium Ring... Lets me travel to other dimensions but since I keep it locked up it isn't that helpful.  I got my Duel Band while dealing with Enigma trying to take over the Multverse. Gleipnir was forged by the dwarves Brok and Sindri when I fought against Wyatt Chaos... Think me or Avo or any of us but cowboy bounty hunter."

Pepper raised an eyebrow at that. "Impressive. And the... Morpher? And the lightsaber?"

"Holidays. Morpher was Halloween when we all became our costumes and lightsaber was from Christmas." 

"So, what are you taking with you this time?"

"Honestly? Nothing. I'm not stealing Thor's hammer or Cap's shield, as much fun as that might be. Have no use for an arc reactor and even then I think Tony would hunt me down it I tried that. Not much for guns or archery and wouldn't dare take Bruce's stretchy pants..." 

Bruce, clearly having overhearing him, merely smirked and waved.

"And the Infinity Gems... While it might be wise for me to take one, just to ensure that no one like Thanos rises up again, I have no idea what might happen if I do that. Chris thinks it might be fine… but the Infinity Gems are tied directly to your world. Taking one… it might be like taking one of the elements. I… really don’t want to risk it.”

“I’ll admit this is all… way above my pay grade.” Pepper made a face. “Which, sadly, has been something I’ve been saying since Tony came back from Afghanistan.”

“Hey, I’m the guy that came from a world where all of this?” he gestured around them. “Was just movies and tv shows. And suddenly I find myself saving the world. Believe me… I get finding yourself working well above your paygrade.”

Pepper chuckled at that before passing a small box she’d pulled from her pocket to Edwin. “Well, maybe this will count as a good souvenir.”

Edwin frowned as he took the box, cracking it open only to blink as he stared at the pair of glasses within.

“They are designed to instantly adjust to whatever you need. Not just becoming sunglasses though Tony said they can become dark enough to withstand a solar eclipse or a nuclear bomb going off. But they also read your retinas and determine what adjustments they need to make so that you never need a new set of glasses again.”

“…shit,” Edwin whispered, removing the glasses he was currently wearing and slipping on the new ones. He let out a whistle as, at once, they began to adjust to his vision.

“Voice command is installed and Tony believes that they should be able to link up to any systems in your world.”

“This is… I didn’t get you anything,” Edwin said, swallowing and suddenly feeling incredibly humble.

“You helped save our world… our universe… that is more than enough.”

“…I don’t know, the glasses are really nice.”

Pepper laughed.

~MC~MC~MC~

“I wish we could have fought against one another one on one!” Goku told Natasha. “I bet you know all sorts of amazing moves!”

“I do… though I can’t fire energy from my hands.”

“I bet you could!” Goku declared determinedly. “You just need to focus on drawing forth your ki! Its hard at first… it was hard for me when I first tried to learn! But that doesn’t mean you can’t.” He focused a little before beaming. “Oh yeah, you have a lot of ki! Several of you do! Hey!” He waved his hand towards the Ancient One, who smiled at Goku’s casual way of calling out to her. “You have a lot of magic, right? Do you think you could find someone who has ki who can teach my friend here? I bet she’d be an amazing fighter.”

“There are… a few I know…” the Ancient One said slowly, startled by what Goku was asking. She looked at Goku, carefully gauging a fraction of his inner strength, and was nearly blinded by what she found. It was similar yet different to when she had looked at Avo Kayos and seen his true power. Knowing what to look for she examined the woman known as the Black Widow… and was startled by what she saw.

“Oh god, Nat’s gonna learn to fly,” Clint said to his wife, who smirked.

~MC~MC~MC~

Avo bowed to the Ancient One. “Thank you for all you did in helping us. The loss of life… it would have been far greater without you all.”

“You reminded us that this world… is our world. We are a part of it. It is something that is easy for us to forget.” She smiled before slowly slipping the Sling Ring from her fingers, holding it out to Avo. “You have not been trained in this… but I believe you will be able to make use of it.”

“Are you sure?” Wong said softly.

“I would not have offered if I wasn’t,” she said before slowly taking Avo’s hand and sliding the Sling Ring upon his fingers. “Use it wisely… use it well.”

“I will,” Avo said, his tone humble.

“Magic… it is so easy to forget for us all… is doing the impossible.” She leaned in and said in a soft voice. “Be the impossible, Avo Kayos. Be the impossible.”

~MC~MC~MC~

Tony looked Edwin up and down before finally saying, “You aren’t invited to the wedding.”

“Good, because I fucking hate weddings,” the duelist replied.

“Yeah, maybe, but I don’t trust you not to turn it into a roast. Though I do think I’ll find a way to crash yours.”

“That might be a long time coming, depending on how I deal with my little moon goddess problem.” Edwin then paused before he flashed Tony a smirk. “But I did get you a gift.”

“And that is?”

“You’ll get to see your daughter grow up now.”

Tony’s eyes went wide before he swallowed. “Thanos?”

“Thanos,” Edwin confirmed. “Make it count, Stark. For once in your life focus on the people around you rather than your fucking ideas.” Tony managed a nod at that. “And could you TRY and not insult people to make them hate you? Start with Quentin Beck. He’s a brilliant engineer… he might be able to become a brilliant hero… just don’t name his life’s work F.A.R.T.” Tony grimaced at that; it did sound like something he would do…

~MC~MC~MC~

“She’s seriously coming with us?” Corrosion hissed as she watched Proxima gather up her weapons.  She was back to being with the Symbiote except her face was exposed, which was VERY odd but VERY wonderful for Chris.

“Why not?” Chris said. “Our world is full of the rejects and Don’t-Belongs. She was startled in our fight when Edwin brought up memories of her life before Thanos and then seeing him ready to rain fire on her and her brothers? She can’t be around him. And her brothers apparently are trying to defend him, even though they know now he was in the wrong. She… needs a change of pace, Corrosion. We can give that to her. ”

“And you certainly aren’t looking for someone to play mommy, are you?”

Chris merely turned away from her and Corrosion began to laugh.

~MC~MC~MC~

Yugi bowed when he saw T’Chaka approach but the King of Wakanda waved him off.

“We fought together… we saved the universe together. There is no need to bow amongst those that have achieved such things.”

“I… still want to,” Yugi said, blushing slightly. “Thank you… thank you for coming to us in our time of need.”

“Thank you… for coming here. I have been told that your world also faces threats.”

“Yes. From what I’ve gathered from Edwin there are a lot of them left.”

“Then perhaps… this will help.” T’Chaka snapped his fingers and one of his bodyguards stepped forward and held out a silver shield.

“I...” Yugi whispered in shock.

“You wielded Captain America’s shield well. And I know that you would never dream of taking it from him. As such we give this to you… as a sign of friendship.”

“I… thank you,” Yugi said, knowing he couldn’t resist. Another of the bodyguards stepped forward and handed him a thin harnass and he realized that it had magnets built into it, allowing him to place the shield on his back and have it stay there. He would work to figure out a way to get it to work with his school jacket but for how… “Thank you,” he repeated again.

“I am told that you hold the title of King of Games.”

Yugi blushed even more. “Its… not really… I mean its not-“

But King T’Chaka held up his hand. “You are a good man… with a good heart… remember though, Yugi Muto… it is hard for a good man to be… a king.”

And with that King T’Chaka performed the Wakanda salute, Yugi echoing it with a deep bow.

~MC~MC~MC~

“Dr. Stephen Strange?” Wong quietly repeated.

Avo nodded. “He’s right now a massive asshole. Entitled and arrogant. Basically he’s Tony before he got the shrapnel in his heart. But… he has potential.”

“As a wizard?”

“As a good man,” Avo stated. “And sometimes that all the world needs.”

Wong slowly nodded at that before stating, “Then let me give you a piece of advice, Kayos: you are far closer than you think. Its all about finding balance now… and not in terms of good magic and evil magic. About HOW you use them… in tandem. That is what you need to master now. You are going about it a bit wrong… you figure that out and you will achieve your goal.” He paused. “The real question is WHY do you want to achieve it?”

Avo though had the answer right away, already leaving his tongue before Wong finished his question. “To help my friends.”

“Then I hope, when we next see you, you’ve done just that.”

~MC~MC~MC~

“Thank you for… everything,” Steve said to Slash and NONE. “I mean it.”

“Yeah, I know you do,” Slash said. “And since I guess everyone is passing on wisdom I have some for you.”

“What I can be ready for?” Steve asked.

Slash though smirked. “Nope. Because we already solved most of your problems.”

“Ultron is a thing though,” NONE commented. “Violent AI-“ Steve frowned at that, “computer program that can think.” Captain America nodded, better able to understand that concept. “Its… weird… and this is from the guy that until a few hours ago was actually just bones and mental issues saying that… but part of him is in Loki’s staff. Or rather I think the power to create him is in the staff. It interacts with programs Tony made that he wrote when he was his most paranoid, distrustful, arrogant, and judgmental to create a being who believed that the only way to save Earth was to kill everything living on it and leave just himself.”

Bucky spoke up at that. “That’s… insane.”

“He was insane. Will be. God I hate time travel.” NONE shook his head and Slash merely reached out and patted his hand while hiding her grin with her other; it was amazing how different NONE sounded now that he was healed. Far more like Edwin and Chris and Avo but there were still twinges of his old self in there. She might miss some of his purring slyness but she would never force him to give up his peace of mind to have that back. “Point is… there is also good that can come from that. Jarvis given a new form that can bring about a great hero. You just have to be careful with that.”

Slash took over. “But after that? You have nothing else to really worry about. At least that we know of. We took down Hydra again-“ And NONE had enjoyed taking a few moments, fully unrestrained, dealing with all of them, “-Bucky isn’t an issue, if Ultron is dealt with Tony won’t become a moronic fuckwit that causes a Civil War-“

“Tell him what you were forced to do,” NONE told Bucky. “Tell him in agonizing detail the tortures you went through… and then how those bastards forced you to kill his parents. It will help.” Bucky shifted at that but finally nodded.

“Otherwise I only have this advice… the same I have been giving this guy.” She nudged NONE who smiled indulgently. “Stop living in the past, Steve. I know you miss Peggy. I know you do. But it does no good to dwell on what might have been. Its not like you have a time machine-“

NONE snapped his fingers, Chris’s Time Stone flashed, and a VERY startled Peggy Carter appeared before them, eyes wide in shock as she reached for her sidearm.

“-damn it NONE I had a speech!” Slash shouted.

“PIka-pi…” NONE’s Pikachu groaned.

“Steve?” Peggy said in a soft voice, turning to stare at him only to them look at Bucky. “Wait… am… am I dead?”

“Yes and no,” NONE commented. “Just created a duplicate of you to live out the life you originally led while you have been teleported decades into the future. Though, and this might just be my own personal fetish talking, but-“ NONE snapped his fingers again and Peggy let out a yelp as suddenly she found her center of gravity shifted… mostly because she had gained several inches in height and a lot more muscle. “There, super soldier Peggy Carter. Go make some super strong babies-GAAAA!”

“Nope, I can’t deal with you finally rediscovering your sexual urges,” Slash said, dragging NONE towards a portal by the ear. “Come on, we need to go and give your Pokemon a workout! Avo, Edwin, Chris, see you next time the multiverse is fucked!” And with that Slash and NONE disappeared through a doorway.

“She has a point,” Chris said. “We were fighting the Spot…” He looked at Proxima and Corrosion who both nodded before rushing to their doorway.

“And we need to save Master Roshi! Come on Avo!” Goku turned and waved. “Bye everyone! Call us if you need help again!”

“Well Yugi?” Edwin said, looking at the teen. “Ready to head back and deal with Egyptians and Digital Boys?”

“Not really but we have too,” Yugi teased.

Edwin chuckled… and the two waved goodbye before walking through their portal.

“…okay, seriously, am I dead?” Peggy asked again to a shellshocked Steve.

Chaos Wars

Arc 1

The Chaos of Three Worlds

~Elsewhere in the Chaosverse…~

Wyatt Chaos frowned as he checked over his gun before looking at the very startled man who was lying on the ground before him, clutching his hand to his chest. A hole had been blown clean through it, leaving him a trembling wreck. Though… that might also have to do with the item that was currently trapped under Wyatt’s boot.

“Trust me… better this way,” Wyatt said as he slowly reached down, only to pause as he stared at the gasping Elf Lord who was lying to his right, a hand pressed to his shoulder, trying to stop the blood flow. “And you… you would have just let him walk away with this here thing and then spent 3000 years blamin’ him rather than takin’ responsibility.” He aimed his gun and the Elf Lord barely had time to cry out before Wyatt shot him in the head. He then whipped around and fired three times into the Son of the King’s chest, ending his life as well. “No witnesses. Everyone will think two of ya died doin’ this. Better for all.”

With that Wyatt picked up the One Ring.

“Hmmm… tryin’ ta dominate my mind?” he said darkly to the Ring. “Ain’t gonna work.” He used his free hand to gesture at the two Millennium Eyes embedded in his skull. “I got so much dark magic bric-a-brac in me that you are just a drop in the bucket. So… think you and I should have a chat, Precious-“

And that was when a portal opened up underneath him, causing Wyatt to cry out in shock as he suddenly was falling… and the One Ring slipped from his hand, bouncing twice before rolling off the ledge he was on and into the Fires of Mount Doom.

Wyatt only fell a moment before he landed hard on some cool ungiving floor. “What the flyin’ fuck was that?!?” the Bounty Hunter demanded.

“Well,” a new voice said and Wyatt turned to find he was in a clear cell of some kind, being watched by a stout yet powerfully built African American woman, “when I was told I would be getting some interesting new recruits I didn’t expect this.” She turned to someone just beyond Wyatt’s line of sight. “Gas him.”

Wyatt snarled and drew his Millennium Revolver, firing into the glass. But it barely even scratched the surface before a white gas filled the cell and Wyatt coughed, vision going blurry.

The woman walked over to the cell and stared at him as he struggled to fight to remain conscious. “Get him prepped for surgery.”

“Yes Ms. Waller.”

Next Time

Chaos Wars

Arc 2

Task Force C